I see Ian’s Messy Desk has mentioned that the print edition of Christianity Today has a weblog column.

Surprisingly our library has a subscription. Stuff can be expensive here, The New York Times is over eight dollars a copy and only a couple of copies are flown or trucked in.
Apparently this blog got a mention along with two other Canadian blogs; CaNN and relapsed catholic. Urban Onramps, Amy Welborn, Country Keepers, e-church and Antioch Road from the US are there too. Several of these blogs have been a consistent online presence for quite some time, and are a good start in this print column to highlight the cultural and geographical diversity blogging offers.

It’s nice to be mentioned, I like the idea of religious writers using other forms of media to highlight blogs. A year ago I’d have been quite excited. But what really pleased me was when Ted Olsen (CT editor/writer) came over to this blog earlier this year in response to a post I did regarding comments he made in a newspaper article about blogging. Olsen stayed to dialogue back and forth with this blog’s readers.

That is a major advantage blogging can offer. I genuinely enjoyed our conversation and his input even if we didn’t quite agree. It’s far more interesting than just reading a column.

Recently in a comment another blogger suggested that blogging ‘currency’ was hits. I respectfully disagree, hits are merely one currency. If this was a commercial enterprise, yes, hits would be the bottom line. But they aren’t.
If no one reading the print edition of CT stops by, I’m still the richer for our earlier blog encounter with Ted Olsen, as I am with any reader that takes time to interact. Readers comments are the spice. I am constantly surprised at the humour, wisdom and common sense others bring to this space.

A comment on the research being done by Pereus out of Harvard says the following:

The study makes one thing clear: there are both trivial and serious forms of (attempts at) web log usage, and only a tiny portion of web log creators are attempting to engage in “serious” public communication. Most are merely socializing…. Technology doesn’t change human nature as much as it heightens it.

The social aspect of blogs can’t be depreciated.
Shalom posts on The Pew Research project data. Most bloggers are already aware of the online search for religious and spiritual information. Among other things blogging can add that social layer for those that want it.

It’s -27C without the windchill. And this is not the coldest area of Canada today by far, but I’d best bundle up well before I truck over to the library.
Blog on!